Cannes Film Festival to No Longer Take Place in May Due to Growing Coronavirus Pandemic
The Cannes Film Festival won’t be rolling out its red carpet this May.
The festival’s official Twitter account announced on Thursday that its 2020 edition will no longer be taking place in May due to the growing COVID-19 pandemic. The festival is held every year in the southern region of France.
“Due to the health crisis and the development of the French and international situation, the Festival de Cannes will no longer be able to take place on the dates planned, from May 12 to 23,” the festival’s official account tweeted.
Due to the health crisis and the development of the French and international situation, the Festival de Cannes will no longer be able to take place on the dates planned, from May 12 to 23. More info #Cannes2020 👉 https://t.co/peLmfw0gQW pic.twitter.com/SVWPasvU23
— Festival de Cannes (@Festival_Cannes) March 19, 2020
According to The Hollywood Reporter, festival organizers are hoping to reschedule the annual film event for June.
While this marks the first time in history that the Cannes Film Festival has been postponed since it started running annually in 1946, the very first planned festival in 1939 was canceled when World War II broke out. It was scheduled to take place in September as France hoped to extend its summer resort season, copying what Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini had done with the Venice Film Festival.
The only other time it wasn’t held came in 1968 when directors forced the festival to be suspended after withdrawing their films in solidarity with students and workers demonstrating across France, reports THR.
France currently has 9,058 cases of the virus, with 243 reported deaths.
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VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty
The coronavirus has caused major disruptions on a global scale, including schools being suspended or classes being canceled, sports teams have been playing games without fans in the stands, late-night shows have started to film without live audiences, political rallies have been canceled and airlines have started to cancel flights in response to the fast-spreading disease.
The World Health Organization has declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic, urging world leaders and citizens to take action to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
As of Thursday afternoon, there have been more than 237,000 global confirmed cases of coronavirus and 9,790 deaths worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins. So far, more than 84,000 people have recovered.
with additional reporting by Peter Mikelbank.
As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLEis committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments and visit our coronavirus hub.
